Civil War Is A Backdrop For These Soapy Subplots

Television

At the end of Class of '61 a fledgling Union officer says the First Battle of Manassas was ''a baptism in blood.''

No doubt it was - for those who were there 132 years ago. But for viewers today, the re-creation of that epic battle is like the rest of Class of '61: a baptism in bubbles - Civil War Lite.

That's not to say you won't be entertained by Class of '61, an ABC movie airing 9 to 11 tonight on WFTV-Channel 9. It's well acted, deftly directed and lushly staged - shot on location in Georgia and South Carolina.

What keeps this film from rising above the level of low-impact fluff is that too many characters in Class of '61 appear to be on leave from Class of '96, the frothy Fox series about college freshmen.

And that's appropriate, actually, because the central action in Class of '61 is the same as that in Class of '96, and I don't mean spirited all-night debate over the great issues of the day.

When members of the West Point class of 1861 - friends tragically divided by regional loyalty - head out looking for action, it's not only on the battlefield.

''He was going to Baltimore to Shannon,'' says the narrator, ''even if it meant riding on a trainful of Union soldiers going to relieve Washington.''

Two officers are overheard discussing an upcoming conquest.

''Is she a dying-on-the-vine type?'' asks one.

''More like a magnolia about to blossom,'' says the other.

Yes, this is the stuff of which great historical drama is made - if the recent CBS miniseries Queen is the standard.

Weren't families tawn asunduh and lovers separated by the war? Certainly. But there is such a thing as perspective.

The genius of Ken Burns, producer of The Civil War on PBS, was his success in weaving the personal stories of soldiers and citizens into his narrative without ever letting those stories overshadow the momentous historical events at hand.

In Class of '61 the war is a colorful backdrop for soapy subplots involving the GQ officers and the blossoming magnolias in their lives.

''Rule No. 1 about Southern women,'' one of them coos. ''We like our our men very religious and a little mad.''

The producers steal Burns' device of using letters from the front in the narrative. But while the letters in The Civil War were marked by heartbreaking eloquence, the fabricated ones in Class of '61 sound empty and trite.

''My darling Shannon, I have seen the elephant - the horrible specter of war as it tramples men to death.''

Well, at least there are no elephants in the battlefield scenes. We probably have historian Shelby Foote to thank for that. Foote, so memorable as on-camera anecdotist in The Civil War, served as consultant to ensure accuracy in Class of '61.

The producers appear to have spared no cost in re-creating the climactic Battle of Manassas at Bull Run, where the former classmates at West Point are reunited as enemies. But although visually arresting, the battle scenes carry no more emotional power than a weekend re-creation by local Civil War buffs.

(Note to Shelby Foote: Was it my imagination, or did I spot some gray Rebel uniforms amid a sea of retreating Union blue at Bull Run?)

The action is constantly undermined by ludicrous dialogue, like this from a Rebel: ''I've shot me some Mexicans and Indians, too, but I'll be damned if I ever thought I'd draw a bead on a Yankee Doodle Do.''

In a truly banal touch, the director cuts away from the battlefield to scenes of a slave giving birth on the plantation while her husband escapes north on the underground railroad. Homicide's Andre Braugher steals acting honors as the fleeing slave. He's also the most recognizable name in the cast.

All the big names in Class of '61 are on the other side of the camera. Steven Spielberg is one of the executive producers, along with Jonas McCord, an Emmy and Peabody Award winner.

The director is Gregory Hoblit, owner of eight Emmys whose credits include L.A. Law and the TV movie Roe v. Wade. The producer is Gregg Fienberg, who was supervising producer for Twin Peaks.

Missing is any credit for the script. Probably someone trying to protect his career. In one scene the famous Civil War photographer Matthew Brady actually says, ''A picture is worth a thousand words.''